RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Minnesota >> Washington County >> Birchwood >> Genealogy HelperIndex...

Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Birchwood (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Birchwood. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Birchwood is located in Washington County.

To see how the shape of Minnesota's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Washington County: Anoka, Chisago, Dakota, Ramsey, Pierce (WI), Polk (WI) & Saint Croix (WI).

Below are the counties that are near Birchwood. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Birchwood:

  • Washington County     (The home county of Birchwood)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
    • Birchwood Village
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Birchwood Village is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birchwood Village
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 880 people
    • Mahtomedi
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Pine Springs
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Pine Springs is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Springs
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 390 people
    • Willernie
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Dellwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Dellwood is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,120 people
    • Duluth Junction
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Duluth Junction is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duluth Junction
    • Grant
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Grant is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,107 people
    • Withrow
      (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
      • Withrow is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Withrow
    • Oakdale
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
      • Oakdale is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,773 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakdale <1>
    • Lake Elmo
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Hugo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Hugo is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,452 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hugo <1>
    • Landfall
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
      • Landfall is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Landfall
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
  • Anoka County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
    • Centerville
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Lino Lakes
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Circle Pines
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Lexington
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Blaine
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Columbia Heights
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Hilltop
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
      • Hilltop is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 764 people
    • Spring Lake Park
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
    • Fridley
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
    • City of Columbus
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
      • City of Columbus is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City of Columbus
      • Estimated population in 2015: 4,007 people
    • Coon Creek
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
      • Coon Creek is located in Anoka County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Creek
    • Coon Rapids
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Carver County
    • Chanhassen
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Chisago County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
    • Wyoming
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
    • Chisago City
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the north)
    • Lindstrom
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
    • Stacy
      (23 miles [37 km] to the north)
      • Stacy is located in Chisago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stacy
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,525 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stacy <1>
    • Center City
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
    • Franconia
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Franconia is located in Chisago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franconia
    • Shafer
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Taylors Falls
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Branch
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Branch is located in Chisago County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Branch
  • Dakota County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
    • West Saint Paul
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Lilydale
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
      • Lilydale is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lilydale
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 838 people
    • South Saint Paul
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
    • Mendota Heights
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Sunfish Lake
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
    • Mendota
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Inver Grove Heights
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Eagan
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
      • Eagan is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagan
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 65,975 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagan <1>
    • Nininger
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
      • Nininger is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nininger
    • Nicols
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Nicols is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nicols
    • Rosemount
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)
    • Coates
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Coates is located in Dakota County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coates
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 155 people
  • Hennepin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
    • Saint Anthony
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Minneapolis
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Brooklyn Center
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Robbinsdale
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
    • Brooklyn Park
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Crystal
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
    • Richfield
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Golden Valley
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)
    • New Hope
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Saint Louis Park
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Bloomington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Edina
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Edina is located in Hennepin County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edina
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 52,477 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edina <1>
  • Isanti County
    • Weber
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Weber is located in Isanti County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weber
  • Ramsey County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
    • White Bear Beach
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • White Bear Beach is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Bear Beach
    • White Bear Lake
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • North Saint Paul
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Maplewood
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Gem Lake
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Gem Lake is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gem Lake
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 536 people
    • Vadnais Heights
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Little Canada
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • North Oaks
      (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Cardigan Junction
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Cardigan Junction is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardigan Junction
    • Shoreview
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Arden Hills
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
    • Roseville
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • Scott County
    • Savage
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Pierce County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
    • River Falls
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
      • River Falls is located in Pierce County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Falls
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 16,306 people
    • Prescott
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Prescott is located in Pierce County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prescott
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,279 people
    • Trimbelle
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Trimbelle is located in Pierce County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimbelle
    • Beldenville
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Beldenville is located in Pierce County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beldenville
    • Morton Corner
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Morton Corner is located in Pierce County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morton Corner
  • Polk County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
    • Osceola
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
      • Osceola is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Osceola
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,580 people
    • Horse Creek
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Horse Creek is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Horse Creek
    • Dresser
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Dresser is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dresser
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 864 people
    • Saint Croix Falls
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Saint Croix Falls is located in Polk County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Croix Falls
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,059 people
  • Saint Croix County (WI)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.
    • North Hudson
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • North Hudson is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Hudson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,833 people
    • Hudson
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
      • Hudson is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hudson
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,168 people
    • Burkhardt
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Burkhardt is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burkhardt
    • Somerset
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Somerset is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Somerset
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,992 people
    • New Richmond
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • New Richmond is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Richmond
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,730 people
    • Roberts
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Roberts is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roberts
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,018 people
    • Star Prairie
      (23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
      • Star Prairie is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Prairie
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 549 people
    • Erin Corner
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Erin Corner is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Erin Corner
    • Hammond
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Hammond is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hammond
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,890 people
    • Deer Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
      • Deer Park is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deer Park
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 212 people
    • Baldwin
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Baldwin is located in Saint Croix County (WI)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baldwin
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,078 people

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Birchwood, see our County-by-County Page for Birchwood.

Cemeteries Near Birchwood ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Birchwood.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Birchwood - one of the links might be able to help.

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Birchwood covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>

While we didn't find Birchwood in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Birchwood.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Birchwood, with the one closest to Birchwood listed first.

  • Mahtomedi
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • White Bear Beach
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • White Bear Beach is located in Ramsey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Bear Beach
  • Dellwood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Dellwood is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dellwood
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,120 people
  • White Bear Lake
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • North Saint Paul
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
  • Duluth Junction
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Duluth Junction is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Duluth Junction
  • Little Canada
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Gladstone
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Gladstone is located in Ramsey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gladstone
  • Hazel Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Hazel Park is located in Ramsey County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hazel Park
  • Oakdale
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Oakdale is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oakdale
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 27,773 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oakdale <1>
  • Withrow
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Withrow is located in Washington County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Withrow
  • Lake Elmo
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (13 more) ...
    • Cardigan Junction
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
      • Cardigan Junction is located in Ramsey County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardigan Junction
    • Stillwater
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Hugo
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
      • Hugo is located in Washington County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hugo
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 15,452 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hugo <1>

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Birchwood. See our List of 1890's Communities around Birchwood.

Newspapers Published in Birchwood ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 425 newspapers that have been published in the area around Birchwood.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Birchwood, there are papers which were published within 22 miles [35.4 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Birchwood.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Birchwood:

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<3>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Birchwood, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<4>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Birchwood) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.